The forest was a mesh of cannon fire and machine guns rattling off their rounds. All of 6-8’s AT-4 stockpile had been used, and the tanks were running low on ammo. Eric had had the paladins retreat. They couldn’t afford to lose any more Artillery rounds.

Eric looked up, his face dark with anger and disbelief.

The Ark still flew.

It was no longer causing him extreme pain, and those in the formation with strong mana sense had finally been able to join the fight.

Eric watched Jessica fire from her new weapon. Riemskin engineers had designed her a hand cannon of sorts. It could fire mana bullets, or ammunition made from Jonny’s warehouse.

She was taking shot after shot with her mana, her face growing more pale with every shot.

Eric ran over. "Alright!" He yelled in her ear, trying to be heard over the symphony of explosions. "Do not fire any more mana rounds. Your face is pale."

Jessica leaned against a tree, catching her breath as she stared up the behemoth that was inching ever closer. "What else can we do, Dad?" She yelled.

"That thing isn’t coming down!"

Eric sighed wearily. "We keep trying. That’s the only thing that we can do. Even though it is weakened and mana now effects it, this thing was meant to kill an entire nation of dragons."

Jessica nodded and left to join the team behind her.

Eric ran back to Michael. The captain was leaning against their truck, smoking a cigarette. Eric arched an eyebrow.

"Uh... aren’t you a bit too relaxed?"

Michael looked up. "What do you want me to do, shoot an M4 at it?"

Eric pulled out his own pack of cigarettes.

"Alright, so we destroyed the cores, but the damn thing is still flying. When can the Paladins refit?"

Michael looked at his notes. "They said they can be back in around forty minutes."

Eric looked at his watch. It had only been half an hour since the first strike had made contact.

"We need to use the B2 again. I think that’s the only way to kill this thing for good. According to the Dragon King, his breath attack left him weak. We need something similar in power to get this damn flight plan of Cartharic grounded."

Michael stroked his chin, looking up at the Ark. It was limping along much slower than before. Each of its cores were leaking out visible blue mana now that they were no more than shattered glass, and some of its weapons systems lay embedded in the dirt below. 6-8 would fire at it, and it would fire back.

"I think you’re right." Michael said as he watched a tank round punch into the ship. Fragments of steel exploded off of it, debris crashing into the ground and raising dust.

"Yeah, call General Milano. Tell him we need the B-2 to finish this thing off."

Tryasche walked over after hearing his name. His eyes glared coldly at the Arc. The battle was starting to lull as both sides were refilling on ammo.

"Master Sergeant Dryer, and Captain Strand... please allow me to be the one who deals the final blow."

Eric looked at the Dragon King with concern. "Your Majesty, your first attack alone destroyed three cores by itself. I am sure you are st-"

The dragon king shook his head. "Master Sergeant. I must avenge my people, and my wife. Because of that monstrosity, my wife had very little strength left in order to give birth to Felicity. She used the last of her mana to ensure Felicity would be born happy and well. I plead with you not only as King, but as a father and a husband. Allow me to deal the final blow. The Ark is weakened, and one last breath from me will destroy it. I just need thirty seconds to gather the required mana."

Eric rubbed his forehead. His blonde hair was smeared with grease and oil from firing the .50cal so many times.

"Will you be alright?"

The Dragon King laughed. "Child, I am aware of my own limitations. I will be okay. I may need to rest in bed unable to move for one month or two, but I feel that price is worth it given our circumstances."

Eric looked at Michael, and the captain pulled out another cigarette. They nodded to each other.

"Very well, your majesty. We will buy you the time you need." Eric said as he walked back over to the radio.

"All stations on net, all stations on net, target the Ark with everything you have left. We will be striking the Ark one final time."

The forest lit up again as Tryasche changed back into his dragon form. A burst of mana flowed out from him as he rose high into the sky. Thunderous explosions began hitting the Ark as more pieces of it fell to the ground. It began to wobble in the air, but still managed to fire its cannons. Bursts of mana met rocket and cannon fire, the night sky was as bright as day time with the flashing that accompanied each side exchanging fire.

Eric trembled against the truck, the reverbrations of the tanks firing their main weapon causing the soil to quake. Wind from each blast threw up clouds of dust, causing the battlefield to take on eerie haze. Each muzzle flash seemed to illuminate the entire sky with the glow being reflected in the fogginess.

Michael crossed his arms as he watched pieces of the Ark fall. "Why haven’t they retreated yet?"

Eric looked off into the distance. "Either they can’t, or they would be killed if they did."

Justin walked up. "Or the general is just that cocky." He said as he set his M4 in the truck.

Eric narrowed his eyes and almost said something to the young soldier, but then shrugged as he turned back to the chaos emanating from the forest.

Then, he felt it.

The ground began to vibrate, and a subtle hum in the air began to press down on everyone present. The air became hard to breathe as heat built up. A small speck of light started growing larger. It started off as a small flash and grew to a ball of fire taller than a two story building, and wider than a LMTV.

Eric, Michael and Justin stood in shock. The ball of fire seemed to move slowly away from the Dragon, his form illuminated. Eric could see the cold fury in the Dragon’s eyes.

"Begone." He said as he released the ball of fire.

Eric had read stories and watched movies of what a nuclear blast looked like, and seeing what happened next in person made him realize the movies undersold it.

It started with a bright flash of light. For a brief moment, Eric was painfully aware of everything in his surroundings. It was as if high noon had invaded the night sky.

Then, the pulse came. Heat burned Eric’s face as he shielded his eyes. Once more, he could see through his eyes as if he didn’t have them closed. Wind assaulted him, forcing him to retreat a few steps. The cackling and snapping of trees echoed in his ears as he finally opened his eyes. Every tree around them had been sheared.

He opened his eyes in disbelief as a large mushroom cloud rose high into the sky. Secondary and tertiary explosions began ripping across the sky as wrecked hull of the Ark fell. The structure fell to the ground, a large thud echoing across the valley.

After the Ark fell, what was left of the forest remained still. No jokes were exchanged, and no one spoke. A solemn atmosphere rested on the forest and the valley as they looked down at the burning hull of what was once known as "the world ender."

"We did it." Eric heard from behind him as soldiers began to file towards the edge of the hill top. More explosions rang out as the remaining stores of ammo on the Ark began to explode.

The soldier who first spoke turned back towards the large throng of soldiers.

No one answered as they looked down at the vessel. Shock and awe were coated on the soldier’s faces, and one after the other most of them collapsed out of weariness.

Tryasche landed a few hundred feet away. He collapsed too, with Felicity doing her best to hold her father up. He leaned on her shoulder and kissed her head. "My beloved Felicity." He murmured as she set him against a truck.

"We have finally wrought revenge on the people who took our homeland and killed our people."

Felicity wiped her own tears away. "Yes, father. We did splendid today. It could only have been you who let loose the final blow."

Father and daughter hugged, and Eric watched with a warm smile. The burning wreckage of the Ark was ignored as soldiers began to get accountability.

Eric groaned.

"We still have a lot of work to do."